As the 12th and final episode of “The Ultimate Fighter 16″ opens, several members of Team Nelson lament their experience on the show. Joey Rivera and Julian Lane seem most critical, but pretty much everyone jumps in and complains about Roy Nelson’s approach as a coach.

Roy has an issue to deal with, as two of his athletes – Jon Manley and Colton Smith – are facing off in the semifinals. Roy explains his approach: coaches will help prepare both fighters, but the semifinalists will need to bring in their own cornermen. Roy believes its an evenly-matched fight that will ultimately boil down to which competitor can instill their own gameplan.

After a commercial break, Joey is in the locker room with Roy and openly criticizing the way the season played out. Roy tries to explain it isn’t his job to motivate or provide heart for the athletes, but he does offer an apology to anyone’s whose feelings he may have hurt.

With that, it’s on to the first semifinal fight.

TEAM NELSON’S JON MANLEY (7-1) VS. TEAM NELSON’S COLTON SMITH (3-1)

Round 1 – Referee Hern Dean is in the cage for the contest. Jon takes the center before Colton rushes forward behind a flurry of punches and into a clinch. Jon eventually pulls away and resets. Colton again closes the distance on the restart and this time brings the fight to the floor. He postures and works to pass the guard of his opponent, and he advances position briefly before Jon stands. Colton stays tight against the body and presses him to the cage, grinding away up against the fence until the end of the round.

Round 2 – Jon presses forward to open the second, but Colton stays away from his punches and ultimately pushes back into a clinch. An outside trip ears Colton top position, but Jon again pushes back to his feet and eventually breaks away from his foe. Jon again gives chase and looks to strike, but Colton simply moves into the clinch and brings his opponent to the floor. Jon doesn’t stay there, but as he crawls back to his feet, Colton remains tied to his body. Jon tries to secure an arm lock as he falls to the floor, and when it misses he scrambles again to the standup department. But Colton elevates and slams him to the floor. It’s a well-established pattern now, and Colton is controlling the positioning of the fight, even if he’s not doing a ton of damage. Jon nearly scores his own takedown in the closing seconds, but a nifty reversal sees Colton finish on top and score another round in his favor.

Round 3 – Jon again opens with strikes from the center, but Colton stays at a distance and avoids any serious damage before ultimately working back into the clinch. Colton isn’t battering his opponent, but he’s undeniable control of the positioning battle. Jon breaks free with a little more than two minutes left, and Colton gets on his bike and circles away, comfortable to cruise with two rounds in his pocket. They engage briefly with about a minute remaining, but Colton isn’t taking any chances. Jon gives chase but isn’t able to land anything of real consequence before Colton ties him up again to end the round. At the final bell, it’s clear who’s walking away with the win. Colton embraces Jon, who breaks into tears.

Colton Smith def. Jon Manley via unanimous decision

The season is over for Team Nelson, and Colton starts the celebration with a little Jim Beam in the locker room. Now it’s time for Team Carwin to host their inter-squad matchup as Neil Magny meets Mike Ricci.

Prior to the fight, the fighters have nothing but praise for the Team Carwin coaching staff. Now it’s time to see who will represent the group in the finals.

TEAM CARWIN’S NEIL MAGNY (7-1) VS. TEAM CARWIN’S MIKE RICCI (7-2)

Round 1 – Referee Steve Mazzagatti in charge. Both look to find their range early as the hold distance and paw jabs. Mike eventually settles in the center of the cage and throws to the body. Neil circles away and looks to fire straight punches. Neil moves into a clinch, but Mike sprawls well against the cage and eventually pulls free. Neil scores a solid kick to the body on the restart. Mike is comfortable and answers back with a similar strike before landing a devastating straight left. Neil collapses to the floor but somehow regains his wits and ties Mike up when he follows to the floor. Neil scoots to the fence and works back to his feet while preventing Mike from taking his back. Once they stand, Mike fires in a crushing elbow that ends the fight in incredible fashion. Neil is in bad shape and takes some time to gather his wits, and Mike is in the finals.

Mike Ricci def. Neil Magny via knockout (elbow) – Round 1

Mike admits the win is tough to enjoy because of what he had to do to a teammate, but he’s happy to be in the finals. Neil is understandably devastated.

With those two fights, the tournament finale is set. It’s Team Nelson’s Colton Smith vs. Team Carwin’s Mike Ricci. UFC President Dana White says he believes it’s a proper final involving the two best fighters from the cast. For Mike, it’s also a little chance at history, as he hopes to become the first Canadian fighter to become a “TUF” winner.

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 16: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson” every Friday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on FX. MMAjunkie.com recaps each episode of the reality series, and full series coverage can be found on The Ultimate Fighter 16 page.

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